THE FINAL EXPERIMENT

Like almost all of Ayreon's albums in my opinion, this album deserves 5 stars, because it IS essential, and a masterpiece of the progressive rock genre. This is Arjen's first album recorded as Ayreon, and is a concept rock opera much like the rest of his albums (other than Actual Fantasy, but themes on that one would eventually build up into his later albums).

Much like classics like Pink Floyd's the Wall, and the Who's Tommy, this album takes you through chapters of a magnificent story, a blend of sci fi and fantasy. The album tells the surreal story Ayreon, a young blind minstrel who suddenly receives strange visions of a doomed future from desperate scientists in the year 2084 A.D., who attempt to rewrite history. As Ayreon journeys through the land, ridiculed by his peers, and cursed by Merlin the great seer of Camelot, Ayreon goes down in history as his warning is not heeded, but passed on in legends until they are received later on, by a man in the late 20th century (which turns out to be Arjen himself). In an interesting twist, Arjen's creating of this album, The Final Experiment, could possibly be his warning to the rest of the human race after receiving those messages he speaks of.

The album perfectly combines sci fi, medieval fantasy, apocalyptic fiction and many others, together in a way that reminds you of a play almost! All the songs flow together without stopping, (hint hint... when that happens, you're usually supposed to listen to the songs in order!!)

There's also a really wonderful second disk which is independent of the storyline, but contains different versions of tracks. My personal favourite is the semi acoustic Merlin's Will

Without a doubt, Ayreon is an amazing example of neo progressive rock at its best, combining the best of many genres. The first album The Final Experiment is amazing, and its legacy is felt throughout the other albums, not only instrumentally, but also in the storyline, where the other albums occasionally allude back to it and each other.

Having its medieval influence, this album has a great Symphonic metal touch to it.